Bradley Students Capstone; A Calling to Future Educators
Zane Dobbelaire
April 12, 2022
Bradley University Seniors are making a significant impact in communities across Illinois, by designing a public relations campaign geared toward solving the national teacher shortage following the pandemic. On April 12, 2022, Bradley University students will be hosting an informational seminar regarding these benefits at Bradley Hall, Neumiller Auditorium, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Bradley is partnering with the Peoria County Regional Office of Education to answer questions, discuss the benefits of substitute teaching, and even offer on-the-spot registration and fingerprinting.
Following the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) guidelines, temporary substitute teaching licenses now only require applicants to have 60 academic credits as opposed to the previous standard of 120 credit hours. These credits are required to come from a regionally accredited college or university in order to meet passing criteria.
Following these changes in requirements, three Advertising/PR majors, Quest Dobbelaire, Bri Durham, and Christiana Kolosvary have taken it upon themselves to make a difference by spreading the word about these changes and how it will benefit college students.
“My team and I decided to work on solving the national teacher shortage for several reasons, the main reason being that it’s a completely new issue that has never been addressed in American history, so we wanted to be pioneer problem solvers,” Dobbelaire said.
If college students can fill any substitute teaching vacancies, albeit temporarily, this will allow the Illinois school system to proverbially catch a breath. As of now, there is a very high demand for substitutes, seeing as many teachers are forfeiting preparation periods to make ends meet.
“Teachers are some of the hardest working members of our society, and it’s about time we started helping them out too,” he said.
Interested applicants need to be aware that there is a $30 cash or check fee to the Peoria County Regional Office of Education to process fingerprints and background checks. There is also an additional $25 fee required by the ISBE. Additionally, a printed copy of their official transcript is required for the application.
Any questions can be directed to illinoisteacherhelp@gmail.com
Editors Note: In the interest of full disclosure, the reporter and the participant in this interview are brothers. The reporter worked closely with the editor to ensure that no conflict of interest had an impact on the story.